Despite clear rules on the matter, French influencers continue to largely circumvent the rules on disguised advertising.
A report published on Thursday by the professional advertising regulatory authority (ARPP) points out that, despite certain efforts, many content creators ignore or openly circumvent the regulations concerning sponsored content. Failure to comply with these rules, however, can result in a fine of up to 300,000 euros and two years in prison if found.
The regulations surrounding advertising are however clear
In its report, the French advertising and competition regulator points out that, despite the risks involved, many French influencers create sponsored posts without clearly mentioning it, or even outright disguised advertising. A phenomenon that is anything but marginal because it concerns no less than 9% of advertising content published by influencers with more than one million subscribers. A proportion that rises to 31% among those with less than 10,000 subscribers.
These rules, however, are relatively simple to apply: the commercial intention must for example be clearly expressed. If branded content is posted for services or compensation, this must also be explicitly displayed. The #ad, often used in the description of the posts concerned, is theoretically not sufficient. Some influencers are not content to circumvent the law: it is therefore not uncommon to see some promote sectors for which advertising is simply prohibited, or at least highly regulated. Are thus concerned alcohol, gambling and especially financial investments. Content creators exposing their lavish lifestyle to promote investments in foreign markets or crypto-currencies are thus most often illegal.
Sometimes ill-informed creators… and often unscrupulous brands
In an interview for The world, Mohamed Mansouri, one of the leaders of the ARPP, explains that for a large part of the creators of content, this non-respect of the law is attributable to a lack of education in the matter. He justifies this by pointing out the difference between small and large influencers, the latter often being surrounded by teams of professionals, and therefore much better informed about the rules to follow. To this end, the ARPP endeavors to inform the persons concerned of their duties. In 2021, it launched a certification for finance influencers, which guarantees their seriousness and transparency.
If the lack of information undeniably plays its role, we must not forget the lack of scruples of certain brands which sometimes tend to clearly ask that the mention of advertising not be displayed so that the message appears more authentic and impactful. As for content creators, they are sometimes afraid of alienating part of their community who would reproach them for advertising and simply prefer to hide the mention of it. At the risk of taking a bigger backlash the day they will be contacted by justice.
Sources: The world, The echoes
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